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Three months after coaching in one of America’s signature sporting events, Jim Harbaugh will have a role in another: He will drive the pace car in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“I’ve already had a dream about it,” Harbaugh told the the Indianapolis Star. “I kept the car out on the track and won the Indy 500 … I know my heart is going to be beating out of my chest.”

After his ceremonial duty is finished, Harbaugh will cheer on Sausalito’s J.R. Hildebrand, the lead driver of Panther Racing, which counts Harbaugh as one its five co-owners. Hildebrand drives the No. 4 car, Harbaugh’s number during his 15-year NFL career. Hildebrand has visited the 49ers headquarters during training camp the past two years, before the annual IRL event in Sonoma.

A noted gearhead, Harbaugh became one of Panther’s founding partners in 1997, his final season with the Colts. During his playing career, Harbaugh used his name recognition to help Panther land sponsorship deals and was a regular in the pits during NFL offseasons. He often held the sign board, which ensured cars pitted in the correct spot.

Harbaugh, who annually visits Panther’s headquarters during the NFL combine in Indianapolis, has assumed a less visible role since he began his coaching career in 2002. Still, starting in 1994 he was a regular at the Indy 500 before missing the race the past two years.

For this story I wrote last year about Harbaugh’s ties to auto racing, Panther CEO John Barnes recalled him “jumping, gyrating and carrying on” in the pits in 2010 as the late Dan Wheldon challenged for the Indy 500 title en route to a second-place finish.

More evidence that Harbaugh’s enthusiasm unknown to mankind extends to auto racing: He’s termed the Indy 500 “better than Christmas.”